Time to say goodbye.

Hi Friends.

After a fantastic weekend of fun and frolics, it was time to wave cheerio to Stoke Bruerne and our friends. We had to head off back towards the Leicester Line, as I have a coal delivery to make at the end of the week. Leaving a head of us was The Cheese Boat and the Fudge Boat, so we followed them into the tunnel. We should have supplied them with earplugs, as it can get rather noisy in a tunnel with us. We had to make a quick stop at Blisworth to tighten up a cooling pipe which was leaking, but were soon on our way once more. We passed by Blisworth Marina, where Roger was standing on the back of nb Windsong, so we gave him a wave. We met Jayne, Roger's wife further along the canal, as she was out walking the dog. It was a quick hello and goodbye, but we did get to chat to them at Stoke Bruerne over the weekend. We pulled in at Stowe Hill Wharf to fill up with diesel. The tank took far more than we expected, some 361 litres infact, but that will keep us going for a few months. It should keep us on the move way into next year all being well. At 68p a litre, it made a large dent in this month's bank balance. No treats for us this month.

These two pooches certainly know how to relax. They were snoozing away the day in the sunshine. It sure is a dogs life.
I took a photo of this boat a few days ago, but did not get the stern in and so I thought I would take this photo. I love the smiley face on the back doors. They have moved out of the wood they were camped in, so I wonder if they have been moved on.
On our travels today we met up with two ladies walking their dogs. At first I did not recognise them, as they were not with their respective boats. It was Jill from nb Matilda Rose and Lesley off of nb. Caxton. We could not stop, but I am sure we will see them again sometime.
I made us some lunch on the move, as it was such a wonderful day weatherwise. If only it had been this sunny yesterday. Because I have the back cabin stove on the go, making drinks is easy because the kettle is always on the boil. I even got out the biscuit box for a change. I had bought the biscuits for the weekend, but we were so busy, we did not get time to enjoy them.
Our journey today ended at Bridge 18, Muscott, have cruised 12.8miles, in 5hrs 35mins. Having moored up, we closed the boat up and then walked up to The Heart of the Shires Shopping Village. The Shopping Village is set around a Victorian courtyard, and is very pretty. They have allsorts of shops there, but there was nothing that either caught my eye or I actually needed. Boats do not need any clutter on them, everything has to have its place. We arrived back onboard the boat and there was an almighty bang outside. At first I thought it was a gas gun, but then the bang was followed by a lot of clattering. It turned out to be a lorry on the motorway. He had blown a tyre. Just as well he had plenty of others on that side to compensate. Even so I watched from the bridge as the motorway maintenance men went to the lorry drivers aid.
Dinner tonight was care of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. On one of his programs recently he gave out a recipe for a Sardine meal, so I made it for dinner tonight. If you fancy making this meal, here's how you do it.

Ingredients.

Butter
2-3 medium waxy potatoes, peeled and chopped into matchsticks
1 small onion, or half a medium onion, finely sliced
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tin (about 120g) of sardines in oil, drained
Dash or two of milk.

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC. Then, in a small frying pan melt a little butter and gently fry onions until softened. Add potatoes and fry for a few minutes longer. Add a little salt and pepper to taste.
2. Grease a small gratin dish or oven-proof dish with a little butter then tip in half of the potato and onion mixture. Top with sardines, then tip over remaining potato mixture. Add a dash or two of milk to the dish, then cover (check if covered with foil) and bake for 20 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Uncover and bake for a further 5 minutes, until golden on top.

I have managed to get a poor TV signal. But it will do for the news. After that it may have to be a DVD, as watching pictures through a snow storm is not good for the eyes.

I am going to say good evening. Have a lovely evening and stay safe.